Earthquake Relief Campaign

February 11, 2023 - News

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II launched a fundraising campaign to help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria:

To their Eminences our brothers in Christ the Archbishops,

Members of our Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod of Antioch.

May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Following the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, we visited our spiritual children in the city of Aleppo which was greatly affected by the earthquake and several hundreds lost their lives. We inspected the damage and observed the scale of the destruction. Our churches and schools were damaged, several buildings collapsed and many lost their houses. We also visited refuge centers in churches and elsewhere, where a large number of people are sheltered because their houses were destroyed or are still not safe. We inspected the relief work that the church is doing as well as other organizations. The relief work consists of providing shelter, food, clothes and warmth. Other cities were also hit by the earthquake, like Lattakia, Jabla, Hama in Syria; their situation is similar to that of Aleppo. We also communicated with their Eminences the Archbishops in Turkey to learn about the situation in Turkey. They informed us of the casualties, especially in the city of Adiyaman which was severely hit and where St. Peter and St. Paul church was severely damaged.

We deem it necessary to launch a fundraising campaign to help the victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, through St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee (EPDC). We urge you and all the members of our church throughout the world to help their brethren in Turkey and Syria. Concerning the fundraising, you can communicate with Very Rev. Raban Andrew Bahhi from the Patriarchate’s Secretariat on his email: [email protected]

We pray asking the Lord to heal the injured and comfort the weak, and to bless all those who participate in this campaign and grant them good health and wellbeing.

May the grace of God be with you all.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.